Meet the Directors
Kathy Clark
Chair of Trustees
Kathy became involved with Home-Start 4 years ago when she helped re-furbish a Home Start family hub in Wandsworth, and, having seen the terrific work they did, became a volunteer closer to home in Elmbridge.
Kathy was appointed Chair of Home-Start Elmbridge in April 2021. Her career of over 40 years has been in large corporate organisations delivering Business change and IT programmes. More recently she was working with organisations helping them with Governance, Process, Quality and Delivery Assurance. Kathy has also volunteered with Cancer Research and Shooting Star charities.
“I am always grateful for commitment and support the team my board of trustees have given me from my early days in the role, often going above and beyond to help me settle in. I am consistently overwhelmed when I see the work the team here at Elmbridge do in support of vulnerable families and I am very proud to be part of this team.”
Sally Blackwood
Vice-Chair and Treasurer
Sally has been supporting families as a home visiting volunteer since 2013. With a background in accountancy, in 2019 she was appointed Treasurer of Home-Start Elmbridge.
Liz Jones
Trustee – Safeguarding
Liz is a qualified Child & Family practitioner working with families for over 16 years in both voluntary and public sector. Liz has spent most of her career working in Safeguarding within Education dedicating support to vulnerable families. Liz has experience of working with children with disabilities and has a keen interest on supporting families navigate the complex systems of special educational needs within the statutory health and social care provision. Liz is passionate that the rights of the child and their families are heard so that they can access timely support in a coordinated, holistic approach.
Having volunteered for Home-Start for several years, Liz combines her knowledge of the charity with her skills and experience in her Trustee role.
Eleanor Miller
Trustee – Communications
Eleanor is an award-winning Marketing and Communications professional, having worked across the commercial, education, charity and government sectors for over 25 years on brand awareness, social purpose and behaviour change campaigns.
As a former Executive Director for Mental Health First Aid England, Eleanor has a wealth of experience as a senior leader working at Board level on the strategic development and performance of a social enterprise focused on improving people’s mental health.
Graduating as a Home-Start volunteer in May 2023, and as a parent of two grown up children, Eleanor is passionate about combining her professional skills, with her life skills, to provide support to the Elmbridge Home-Start Board of Trustees and wider staff team.
Nicky Mangold
Trustee – Volunteers
Nicky has been a Home-Visiting volunteer with Home-Start Elmbridge since 2016, and became a trustee a little later the same year. Nicky works with the Board and Management regarding matters concerning volunteers, from recruitment, training, well-being and safety to procedures and policy.
Now a mum to two young adults, Nicky has an appreciation of how tough parenthood is in the early years, and how a friendly face and someone who listens non-judgementally makes all the difference during tough periods. As a volunteer she sees how families are able to overcome life’s challenges with the correct support. Nicky is passionate about assisting families in Elmbridge and is involved in a number of other community initiatives.
Jeremy Sharples
Trustee – Governance and GDPR
Jeremy, now retired, joined us from a 40-year business background, initially with multi-national consumer goods companies and more latterly, running his own business in Elmbridge. His parents also ran local businesses for 25 years in Cobham.
He’s married and has two children, both of whom have migrated to South London. In the nicest possible way, he’s a self-confessed process nerd. And being a lifelong West Ham fan, can never be considered a glory supporter. In his spare time, he is studying psychology and philosophy at the OU, and plays pétanque very averagely.
Clare Maddison
Trustee – Fundraising and EEDI
Clare joined us a Trustee in 2025 with a wealth of voluntary sector experience, including charity leadership, fundraising, EDI and partnership management. Having worked in a number of fundraising and development roles in the UK and abroad, she brings passion and insight to her role as Trustee.
Since 2018, her career has focused on grant-making, working for a corporate foundation where she leads strategic partnerships and funding programmes to support communities and drive positive social impact. With a young family herself, Clare is passionate about combining her skills and experience to help create lasting change for children and families in Elmbridge.
Penny Yates
Trustee – Wellbeing
Penny’s professional life was as a Health Visitor, Manager of Community and Children’s Health Services, and as a Director of Nursing in a Primary Care Trust, all of which provided an insight into how vital support is to families in the early years.
Penny enjoys working as a volunteer with Home-Start families and feels privileged as a Trustee to be able to support Home-Start Elmbridge in developing the work it does in supporting families.